Extremist summons Muslims to Iraq

BAGHDAD — The leader of the extremist group that has swept over much of northern Syria and Iraq called on Muslims Tuesday to immigrate to the territory his group has seized to help build an Islamic state.

The 19-minute audiotape from Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi comes two days after his organization, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, unilaterally declared the establishment of an Islamic state, or caliphate, in the land it controls. It also proclaimed al-Baghdadi the caliph, and demanded that all Muslims around the world pledge allegiance to him.

In his first remarks since that bold declaration, al-Baghdadi urged Muslims to come build their caliphate. He made a special appeal to those with practical skills — scholars, judges, doctors, engineers and people with military and administrative expertise — to come “answer the dire need of the Muslims for them.”

He also called on jihadi fighters to escalate fighting in the holy month of Ramadan, which began on Sunday. “In this virtuous month or in any other month, there is no deed better than jihad in the path of Allah, so take advantage of this opportunity and walk the path of you righteous predecessors,” he said. “So to arms, to arms, soldiers of the Islamics, fight, fight.”

The audio was posted on militant websites where the group has issued statements in the past, and the voice resembled that on other audiotapes said to be by the shadowy al-Baghdadi, an Iraqi militant who has rarely been photographed or appeared in public.

In a reflection of the havoc wreaked the past month by the Sunni insurgency led by the group, the United Nations said more than 2,400 people were killed in Iraq in June, making it the deadliest month in the country in years.

The Sunni insurgents’ advance, which has plunged Iraq into its worst crisis since the last U.S. troops left in 2011, appears to have crested, at least for now, as it bumps up against majority Shiite areas, and as it seeks to consolidate its control of the territory already in hand.

Meanwhile, Iraq’s new parliament deadlocked less than two hours into its first session when minority Sunnis and Kurds walked out on Tuesday, dashing hopes for the quick formation of a new government that could hold the country together in the face of a militant blitz.

Acting speaker Mahdi al-Hafidh ended the proceedings after most of the 328-member legislature’s Sunni and Kurdish lawmakers did not return following a short break, depriving parliament of a quorum. The entire session, from the opening national anthem to al-Hafidh’s final words, lasted less than two hours.

The impasse, which was largely expected despite intense political pressure to make a quick deal, prolongs what has already been days of intense jockeying as political blocs try to decide on a new prime minister, president and speaker of parliament.

The country’s top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, urged lawmakers last week to agree on the three posts before Tuesday’s meeting in hopes of averting months of wrangling that could further destabilize the country.